Always
by LilFlyergirl
Summary: Sequel to Look What Love Gave Us... a friend from Peter's past arises to put an end to Spider-man, and the Black Cat sets her sights on our hero. Chapter 4 now up! Disclaimer: I own nothing!
1. The Morning After

Hi! Okay, something went weird, and I had to post this again… enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Morning After

Harry Osbourne wriggled against his straight jacket. Put him in a mental hospital! The nerve! Didn't they know who he was!? They would all pay for this, and soon. He grew steadily impatient in his bindings. But first, his first priority was Spider-man. He would get rid of him and everyone he cared about. Including his so-called friends. They had sent him here. But they would all pay. All of them. He would make sure of that.

'Such violent thoughts,' a little voice hissed in his head.

Harry looked around. He was alone in his padded room. "Who said that?" he asked.

'I did,' the voice replied. 'Listen very carefully, and I promise, you'll get your revenge.'

"On Spider-man?" Harry asked.

The voice chuckled. 'Yes. He'll pay for taking your father from you, Harry. They'll all pay."

Harry grinned.

"Are you serious!?" Mary Jane squealed into the phone. "I… I got the part!?" she jumped up and down. "Oh my God!!"

Peter woke up to the sound of angelic music. It was his angel, Mary Jane laughing. She turned to him, grinned and hung up the phone. "Peter! Peter, I got the part!"

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and then lifted his arms out to stretch. As he did so, the tinking of bottles clanking together was heard. He looked down at what could have made the noise and saw the six bottles of Mike's Hard Lemonade that Mary Jane brought over last night empty. It took a moment for the things she was saying to register in his brain. When they finally did, he grinned and wrapped her in a hug. "Congratulations, no one deserves it more than you, MJ."

"Thank you," she smiled. "It's nothing big. Just a small part in a new soap."

"MJ, that's huge."

"Well," she blushed. "I don't want to jinx it."

He placed a kiss on her forehead. "Your dream is coming true, and I couldn't be more proud of you."

She smiled warmly up at him. "But this is just one of my dreams. You know my other,"

He looked down at the floor. Yeah, he knew her dream. It was his dream too.

"Y'know what I'm going to do?" she asked, breaking the silence.

He looked up at her again.

"I'm going to help you clean up, and then I'm going down to the Diner… to tell Enrique he can take his job and shove it."

He laughed. He loved it when she was self-empowered. It was when she was most beautiful to him.

Mary Jane chuckled to herself as she walked along the streets of the deteriorating section of the city. The look on Enrique's face had been priceless when she told him she quit. Like someone just told him there was crap on his face. Her grin widened. It was priceless. Finally, she'd be able to move out of this horrible neighborhood, and into that house she always dreamed of with Peter.

Rewind! Peter doesn't want you, remember?

He's Spider-man. I know he is. That has to be the reason. That or, Felicia… she didn't want to finish the thought. Tears filled her eyes as she lowered her head against the bustling wind. It was late afternoon, and the sun was already beginning to sink, giving the crooks their cue to come on out of hiding. She looked back and forth desperately for a cab. She didn't want to find herself in another messy situation.

"What? Are they all on their break?" she muttered in frustration. As soon as she got her first paycheck, she was buying a car. "Subway it is, I guess." She passed a pay phone and stopped. Hang on, she was going to be smart about this. She was sure if she asked nicely, Peter would come down and meet her. Peter… her heart leapt as she thought of him. She always felt safe with him, and wished she could get lost in his ocean blue eyes forever. Shaking her head, she put in some change and dialed his number. His answering machine picked up. She put the receiver down in defeat without leaving a message. After she bought the car with her pay check, she was getting a cell phone too. So, where was he? He was either busting up baddies or… go on, say it. Has his tongue down Felicia's throat. No. She wouldn't think of that. If he said there wasn't anything going on with her, there wasn't. She turned in the direction of the subway.

Reviewwwww


	2. The Voice

Chapter 2: The Voice

'Osbourne!!'

The voice woke Harry from a fitful sleep. 

            "What!?" he demanded loudly. "Who are you!?"

The voice chuckled. Funny, he couldn't hear it with his ears… the voice was inside of him…

            'The same someone that contacted your father not too long ago…'

            "My father!?" Harry exclaimed.

            'Your father was the Goblin! He had power, Harry! Such wonderful power that he almost took out Spider-man!'

            "Spider-man!" Harry said in fury, lashing out at the wall. "I swear he will pay!"

The voice chuckled again. 'It may be easier than you think…'

            "What do I have to do?" Harry asked.

            'Your father's lab, Harry. Get there.'

            "How!?"

            'I shall loan you some power… a preview, if you will…'

At that moment, Harry's bones began to ache… and then they felt as if they were on fire. Harry screamed in agony.

An orderly rushed in. "Osbourne! What's all the noise for!?"

            'Take him out,' the voice hissed. 'Take him out and the pain will stop…'

Harry got to his feet, gritted his teeth, and leapt at the orderly. He fell backwards into the hall. With inhuman strength, Harry bashed his head repeatedly against the cold tile floor. When he didn't move anymore, he grinned, and took off for the exit. It felt good.

            Dark storm clouds rolled in, bringing with it a loud clap of thunder. Mary Jane jumped. "Oh no, not now…"

There was another clap of thunder, and with it came a down pour. She squealed, and lifted her purse over her head. She sprinted down the soaked streets, stopping at an alleyway. THE alleyway, where she had first kissed Spider-man. She knew it wasn't safe, but maybe if she ran, she'd be okay. Plus, it did cut about ten minutes out of her way. She ran down the alley, pretty fast for someone in heels, and was almost out of it when someone grabbed her arm. 

            "Oh God…" she whispered. She prayed that Peter's face would come into view, but it didn't. A man in his late thirties, with soulless brown eyes and stubble on his face grinned at her. 

            "Where are you off to, Princess?"

She couldn't answer if she wanted to. One of his hands was clamped over her mouth. She was scared, and she was getting soaked. He roughly threw her to the ground, and lay on top of her, his hands roaming all over her body.

            "Get off of me!" she yelled.

Then she heard a choking sound, and the man flew backwards off of her. She scrambled up. Just as she hoped, Spider-man was there, his webbing wrapped around the man's throat. Spider-man pulled on it tighter, and the man went into unconsciousness. He quickly wrapped him up in some more webbing, and left him for the police.

Mary Jane sat off to the side, her knees up to her chest, staring at the ground. She looked up when he stood in front of her.

            "Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded solemnly. 

            "Let's get you out of the rain, huh?"

She stood up and circled her arms around his neck. "Thank you," she whispered.

            "Don't mention it," he said, and they were off.


	3. Decisions in Love

Chapter 3: Decisions in Love

Spider-man landed softly on her balcony. They were both soaked, and the storm showed no signs of stopping. She let go of him with a small sigh, and opened her bedroom doors. The scent of Peach tickled his nose.

            "I should be on my way," he said. "And MJ, try and stay out of dark alleys, okay?"

            "Wait," she said, grabbing his hands. "Please don't leave yet."

He allowed her to lead him over to her bed. She sat down and patted the portion of it next to her. He sat down. Bad move, he kept thinking. You should have definitely kept standing.

            "This mask," she whispered, gently lifting it up to reveal his mouth. And she was kissing him, kissing Peter, and everything felt like it was right in the world. That her horrible ordeal a half an hour ago never happened, that they weren't soaking wet from the storm, that they were the only two people on the planet. "Stay with me tonight," she whispered. "Peter, make love to me."

Peter. She had said Peter, not even bothering with using Spider-man. His eyes bugged out. She was that sure it was him? "Mary Jane," he took her small hands in his own and looked her square in the eye. "I'm… I'm not…"

"You're not what?"

Well, quit now! He yelled at himself. She knows, so there's no use fighting it. "Are you sure you want this?" he asked instead.

She nodded. "I want you. I want all of you, Peter." She gently reached up and removed his mask. He avoided her eyes. "Look at me," she whispered.

He slowly looked at her.

            "I know why you wouldn't tell me, but I knew… I always knew. I don't love you because you're Spider-man," she said, running her fingers through his hair. "I love YOU, Peter Parker. And I know that you love me,"

            "I do love you, Mary Jane." He said, slowly cupping her face. "I always have. And now that you know… things are going to be different… they'll have to be."

            "I've known," she said, sighing. 

            "The only thing I cared about was keeping you safe, I didn't stop to think about your feelings… I was an idiot."

            "The only thing that matters is that we're together now." She rested her head against his forehead.

He twined his fingers in hers and kissed her.

Peter woke up to the sound of a bird chirping. He opened his eyes and gazed around Mary Jane's room. Sunlight was pouring in from every angle, and she was still asleep next to him, her head on his chest, and her right arm across his stomach. This was what he dreamed of all of his high school years. Waking up next to Mary Jane. But, she knew… God, she knew his secret. And even though he knew it would put her in more danger, he felt capable of handling it. He was afterall Spider-man. He stared at his red and blue costume thrown carelessly to the floor. His mask was around some place. He looked down at his angel, and felt nothing but overwhelming love. He loved her so much, and now that he had finally let her in, finally was able to love her, he felt free.

She moaned next to him, and opened her eyes. She smiled and kissed his chest. "Good morning,"

            "And what a morning it is," he said.

She giggled. "This is some way to start off a relationship."

He laughed.

            "Of course," she continued. "My only regret is not realizing you were the one for me sooner."

He pulled her closer to him. "I'm sorry for pushing you away."

            "I know," she trailed a finger down his chest. She rolled over and squinted at her alarm clock. "I should get up."

            "So soon?" he whined.

She giggled. "I have to be on the set in an hour."

            "That's a whole sixty minutes of passion you'd be missing out on,"

She kissed his fingertips. "It's tempting, very tempting. But I can't be late,"

He groaned. "Oh, alright. I gotta get to the Bugle anyway."

She kissed him and reluctantly got up out of bed, pulling on her terry cloth bath robe. He got up, and pulled on his costume.

            "Question," she said, watching him. "Why Spandex?"

He opened his mouth in mock seriousness. "You don't think I can take out the idiots in jeans and a t-shirt?"

She laughed, and then walked to him, putting a hand on his arm. "How… how did it happen?"

The question. THAT question. He was waiting for her to ask, and finally felt good he had someone to tell.

            "Well," he started. "Do you remember the Field Trip we had in senior year? The place with the spiders?"

Her mouth flopped open. "Yeah!"

            "Well, a genetically-altered one or one from that center bit me, and… viola,"

Her face got a look of concern on it. "Did it hurt?"

            "When I got home, I passed out and awoke the next morning like this."

She looked at him with quiet awe, and then wrapped her arms around his neck. "That must have been awful… with no one to tell." 

He nodded. "It was."

"But, you're still Peter. MY Peter," she added and gave him a quick kiss.

            "I like the sound of that," he said, moving his hands down to her hips.

            "Hey hey hey," she said, backing away. "I have to get a shower and go to work," she said with a wink. 

            "Want me to join you?"

She giggled. 

            "I'm going to head out as well," he said, kissing her. "I'll see you later."

            "Bye,"

He walked onto her balcony, and she followed. He pulled on his mask, shot out some webbing, and went swinging away into the early morning hours, the happiest morning of his life.


	4. We're Together

Chapter 4 We're Together

            "Mary Jane!" The stage hand wandered around the set, looking for the red head. She found her in her dressing room. "Mary Jane,"

MJ turned to her. "Hi Anne, what can I do for you?"

Since their introduction, they had hit it off, and Mary Jane was hoping for once in her life, besides Peter, she would have a real friend. 

            "There's a gorgeous guy out here with the bluest eyes looking for you. Want me to take him off of your hands?" she asked with a wink.

Mary Jane grinned. Peter. She laughed. "That's my boyfriend, send him in please."

Anne winked and took off.

Mary Jane sighed contently. Her first day on the set of the new soap was almost finished. She spent all day meeting everyone, and going over scripts, and arranging publicity photos that Peter and his sense of balance was a nice change. He poked his head in her dressing room, with a bouquet of flowers.

            "Peter!" she squealed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "What are you doing here?"

            "I was in the neighborhood," he replied sheepishly.

            "Thank you," she said, taking the flowers, and gave them a sniff. "How did you know roses were my favorite?"

He blushed.

            "What?" she said, looking around for something to put them in.

            "In third grade, when we had to do What I Love the Most speech, you talked about roses."

She stopped and stared at him. "Oh my God. You remembered that?" When she thought he couldn't get any sweeter, he always surprised her.

He grinned.

She kissed him. "Just when I think I can't love you more, I can. That is so sweet."

He grinned. "I know,"

She laughed. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when his face went blank. "What is it?" she asked.

            "I have to go," he said.

            "Oh," she said, and held up eight fingers.

He nodded. To his surprise, she smiled.

            "I understand," she said. "it's going to take me awhile to get used to it, but I understand what you have to do. Just be careful. Okay?"

He kissed her. "I promise. Meet ya back home." He walked out the door.

She sighed happily. Home. After having a rough childhood, that was the place she dreaded. But with Peter, it was where she was happiest.

Peter slowly snuck up behind the robber. He thought he was scott free. Boy was he wrong. The siren of the jewelry store's alarm blared loud enough to wake the dead. Another two steps and… got him.

            "Don't move," Spider-man said. "You won't get far."

            "The spider," the robber said, drawing his gun. "I was expecting you."

            "If you were expecting me, you should have baked me a cake." He grinned beneath his mask.

The robber didn't laugh. He cocked his gun. He saw a flash of red, and Spider-man had vanished. "What the!?" he exclaimed.

Spider-man whistled. "Yo stupid, up here!"

As the robber looked up, Spider-man landed behind him and grabbed him by his throat, the gun flying lose. "That floor taste good?" he said as he over powered the man to the ground. The robber struggled, his flailing hands searching for his gun. Spider-man clamped a boot on it and kicked it to the wall. "Guns are not the answer," he said, as he hog tied him up with webbing.

A shot shattered a display case close to Spider-man's head. He jerked his neck and saw another man in the threshold of the jewelry store, a gun trained on him. "And then the bug went splat," the man said.

Spider-man leapt up onto the ceiling, easily dodging the man's shots. Once the gun was empty, the man cursed.

Spider-man dropped down in front of him and kicked him in the face. "And then **you went splat," he grinned. The man staggered back, and Spider-man used this distraction to tie him up as well. He grinned at his handy-work, and walked to retrieve the gun in the corner. He stopped when he heard glass shattering and yelling from just outside. So there was a third member of this party? He walked out of the jewelry store and froze. Felicia, in the Black Cat costume was kicking the shit out of a man. Seeing she was in no danger, he crossed his arms and watched. She wasn't kidding when she said she could handle herself. She rammed him into the side of the jewelry store, and smiled as his eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed.**

            "Nice," Spider-man said.

She turned to him, absolutely beaming. "You're not the only one who knows how to have fun, Bug Boy."

            "Is he part of this crowd?" he jerked his head to the jewelry store.

            "Yeah, there's about ten thousand dollars worth of jewelry in the black van around the block."

They sat on top of the jewelry store's roof, watching the police apprehend the baddies. 

            "That was fun," she said. "I deserve a nice hot bath… care to join me?"

            "Fun?" Peter asked. "That's your idea of fun?" he exclaimed, ignoring the other half of her statement.

            "Don't you dare tell me you don't enjoy doing this."

            "No, it's my gift… yet, it's my curse. I love helping people…"

            "But?" she prodded.

            "Nothing," he said.

            "What?"

            "Forget it," he said in a tone that he wanted her to drop it. He was going to say he wished he had realized what he could do to save his uncle Ben. "It's late. I better get back to Mary Jane."

            "Oh," she said.

            "What?"

            "You're together?"

Stupid! He silently yelled at himself. "Uh, yeah… yeah, we are."

She gave a small "hmph," and turned away from him.

            "Felicia," he said. "wait."

She kept on going. "Bye, Bug Boy,"

            "Felicia!"

But she had gone.


End file.
